Editor’s Note: Tiffany O’Donnell, chief operating officer of Iowa Women Lead Change (IWLC), officially begins her position July 6. This is her first guest column for Lift IOWA.

Habits are hard to break. There is something safe about an automatic action that takes little brainpower to initiate. Habits are predictable. They are comfortable. But, in the end, they don’t move you forward. Habits don’t make you better. They reinforce where you are.

So what happens when your job becomes a habit?  

I’ve been there. Actually, I’m in the middle of it. After a successful 23-year broadcasting career, I broke the habit. In two short weeks, I’ll begin career No. 2. It took a year to get here.

Here’s a look at my own five-step program for re-invention:

1. Make your bed every morning. It’s your first accomplishment of the day! Yay, you! Every day is a fresh start.

2. Create a new self-image. Imagine yourself the way you want to be. What does she look like? What does she eat? Simple questions, but they lead you to many places like your closet (style matters) and your refrigerator (feel good inside, feel good outside).

3. Volunteer. It’s good for your soul and your resume. As a journalist, I had very little opportunity to read spreadsheets or develop marketing plans. My work as a volunteer in the nonprofit world gave me those skills!

4. Network. Be around people who look like your new self-image. Want to start a business? Find entrepreneur groups like One Million Cups.  

5. You’ve got this. You are the boss of you. Once you make up your mind, there’s nothing that can stop you.

My second career begins in July, when I will become the chief operating officer of IWLC. Over the past year, as I followed my own five-step process outlined above, I am happy to report that I did the following:

1. I made my bed. Every day. Although some days I wished I was still in it!

2. I imagined what it would be like to transition away from television news and into a more “normal” career. I asked myself, “What does going to bed at 10 p.m. — instead of midnight (or later) — look like for me? What would it be like for my family?”

3. I worked my tail off with IWLC to help launch its Invest in She events promoting female entrepreneurs, and continued in other volunteer endeavors with Newbo City Market and other nonprofit groups.

4. I talked with people in the nonprofit world, which is where I determined my passion resided. You don’t have to be a reporter to ask the tough questions: “What does a successful nonprofit look like? How do budgetary decisions in a nonprofit differ from a corporation? How do we leverage more women into leadership positions?” These questions pointed me to IWLC, for which I’m forever grateful!

5. I breathed deeply and repeated: “I got this.”

Everyone’s reinvention journey is different, of course. But I’ve discovered after decades of reporting about transition, loss, recovery and re-discovery that there are always prominent themes to each personal renaissance.

My advice: Go find yours!